Welcome to my blog, in which I post photos from recent travels and photography ideas.
These are posted irregularly, so log in at your leisure to catch my latest ramblings.
Days 18 and 19 - In South Tyrol
This post will cover our last day at Ortisei and our drive to the top of Passo Stelvio.
The internet connection the last two nights was poor - at least that's my excuse.
Before leaving Ortisei, we went early up two lifts to Seceda, a high mountain pasture, which we had thus far missed out on because of the weather. After arriving at the top of the lift, we walked higher along a ridge, but it was very cold with some gusty winds. Since the light was not good for photographs and we wanted at warm up, we walked back down to the restaurant hoping that conditions would improve.
Hot chocolate with a chocolate croissant warmed us up, and gave the conditions time to improve.
This is the area named Seceda, at an altitude of 2518 metres.
This is the view from the top of the gondola station looking down at Ortisei.
And back down to the village we rode.
One of the views from the gondola as we descended.
We were ready to leave Val Gardena.
Trost Burg, in Kollmann, at the end of Val Gardena, as we head south.
But our route south took us down the valley and below the autobahn, except for the last few kilometres before Bolzano. We then took a highway west toward Merano. We stopped for the night in Schlanders at a Guest House, to the ladies' relief.
The next morning we continued up the valley, which was a centre of apple growing.
Soon the orchards were behind us as the valley narrowed, for our ascent up the Stelvio.
But not before our stop for, get this, not cappuccino, but hot chocolate.
Here are some scenes from our drive up to the summit of Passo Stelvio.
A traffic jam on one of the 49 switchbacks.
This is nearing the summit.
We arrived at the top (2758 metres), and then entered Switzerland.
We descended switchbacks on the Swiss side, and stopped in the village of Santa Maria in Val Mustair for the night.
We took rooms at this unique renovated building that served as a bed and breakfast. The original lower portion was about 800 years old, but the upper floors were from the early 1800s. The young lady who ran this place spent six years designing and renovating it.
This was my room, sparse but an adventure.
This was the dinner each of us ordered - capuns. Haven't figured out what it is, but it was very tasty.
Apparently this is a local specialty.
I'll cover the next two days in the next blog. Tune back in.
Day 17 - Alpe di Siusi
This morning the weather had improved dramatically, so we chose to go up Seiser Alm.
In Italian, that is Alpe di Siusi.
This was our first view of this high alpine pasture as we exited the gondola station.
We hiked the trails in this plateau. Here are a few more photos of the area.
How could we forget to have our daily cappuccinos - of course not.
We descended with the same gondola back to Ortisei and our airbnb
Jane and Veda cooked dinner, and I went into town and bought a bottle of Chianti.
Tomorrow we leave Ortisei, which in Val Gardena, South Tyrol.
Day 16 - Rain in the Valley, Snow Higher
It turned colder last night, with rain that continued into the morning. When that happens, there will be snow at higher altitudes. This weather forced us to abort plans to go up into the high mountain areas.
Later in the morning the weather improved, so off we went on a drive.
We left Val Gardena and drove to a small valley, Val di Funes.
The objective was to photograph this small church in Santa Maddelena.
The stunning settings of farms on these steep slopes are all around us.
We're amazed at how the farmers make hay on these steep slopes. Well, it isn't easy.
Then it was back to Ortisei.
We're looking to a better day tomorrow.
Day - 15 - Three Passes
We left Cortina this morning, heading west.
The first of the mountain passes we drove was Passo Falzarego.
These spectacular scenes were near the village of Livinallongo.
We next drove over Passo di Pordoi.
Our third pass to traverse was Passo di Sella.
This shows how extremely happy the ladies were about this journey.
One issue with these mountain passes was the plethora of Porsches.
We eventually arrived at our destination of Ortisei and located our lodgings.
This is our airbnb for the next three nights.
And the sun set over Ortisei, in the South Tyrol.
Day 14 - Around Cortina
Today we went on a leisurely drive north from Cortina, in the direction of Dobbiaco (Toblach in German).
We were looking for a small lake, but found it overrun by a film crew, so we moved on.
Further up the road, we came to this site.
This whole area appears to be a mecca for cyclists, either on the roads or on designated trails.
They are outnumbered only by motorcyclists, who will pass at any place on the road, whether it seems safe or not.
Roads: for bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, and even cars!
From here, we could look up the Rienza Valley and see Le Tre Cime (Die Drei Zinnen in German).
Here we also had our obligatory cappuccino tasting.
We then drove further, until we came to Toblach Lake.
The ladies walked along this lake, in their obviously colourful attire, worn just for this photographer.
At least the cows were more colourful.
Tomorrow we leave Cortina d'Ampezzo.